Trusting You
by seeinglikeHeis
Summary: This is a story that takes place after a few years at the end of the show. Lots of things have happened, and the X-men are trying to get themselves together again. Can they be the symbol of mutant kind that they once were?
1. Chapter 1

"Ah've never been in ah park like this before. It's even mor' beautiful than the ones in Caldecott" Rogue spoke as she walked beside her teammate, Scott Summers.

Rogue had lived in the country all her life, where most of the places were old enough to be historical sites, but even the backwoods didn't have any parks as fancy as this one. As they made their way through the park path, she had decided that this was the kind of place that had seen generations of people walk its trails.

"It is quite nice" Scott commented. The park that they were walking through was very big. The whole place seemed to be made in a style that had went away after the 1900's. However, it still held a level of modernness to it.

Both of the X-men had taken on different identities for the day. They were not wearing their usual, distinct costumes that made them recognizable to the world as the students of Charles Xavier. Instead, they wore the clothes of everyday citizens.

Rogue was wearing jeans, a pair of black gloves, and a simple long sleeved shirt. Despite this, she still felt vulnerable without her green and yellow suit or her Gothic look. She had been trying to cut back on her more expressive ways of dress that had plagued her time in High School. These days she had been attempting to appear more conservative. Especially now that she was an official X-man.

Rogue had her mane of curly brownish red hair covering her neck with her lone white lock hanging in her face. She had let her hair grow out during these past years.

Her brother, Kurt, had thought she was a different person when she had come home from college. However, most of the team had now gotten used to her new look. As well as her absorption of Carol Danvers powers, but that was a whole different issue.

Scott looked more comfortable. Which didn't surprise Rogue since he was used to walking around in normal clothes. He was also wearing jeans, with a white shirt, and his signature shades. He had his hands in his pockets and his posture perfect and assured.

Rogue couldn't read his expression as they walked through the park, but then again no one could ever tell what the unofficial leader of the X-men had on his mind. Rogue had been on enough missions with him to know that he always kept his demeanor in check.

"I'm glad that you came with me, Rogue" Scott said as they stopped at a park bench that overlooked a beautiful rose garden.

Scott himself had requested that Rogue go with him for a trip to the park. He knew that the weight of absorbing Carol Danvers powers and mind had been affecting her lately. For awhile they had all been worried that she would grow weak and wouldn't be able to handle the scope of her new powers or abilities. The Professor himself had expressed his concern about Rogue's physical and mental well being.

Scott figured that a quiet place like the park would help ease her mind. He had been happy to realize that going through the scenic routes seemed to lift Rogue's spirits. A day in the Bayville, New York Park reminded Rogue vaguely of Mississippi.

Although there were a lot of differences here. Like the tall buildings and busy streets. Nevertheless, as they had walked pass the trees in the park, she felt like she was at home.

"Ah know, Scott. Ah ah'm really glad that the Professor decided on lettin me come along, " She said, not knowing if she should sit down or not, "Well, Ah guess we better get goin' back ta the mansion".

Scott smiled at her and took a seat on the bench, "I was hoping we could stay for awhile" he said.

Rogue sat down near Scott. "Well this is ah first," She said, " Ah never thought Ah hear Scott Summers decline ah offer ta go back ta the X-mansion. What's wrong with ya, sugah?"

Scott looked at Rogue and chuckled at the expression on her face. She was looking at him as if he were a poisonous snake. He knew that lately he had been taking things a little too serious around the mansion and on missions. However, it was only because he was truly afraid of being in charge.

"I guess I'm just tired, Rogue," He admitted, "I know that I haven't been too easy on you, Bobby, or Warren, but I think its because of everything that has been going on. Jean's gone and now you're having trouble with your powers...it's just...it's just..." he couldn't finish and instead buried his face in his hands.

Scott was getting older and the Professor was giving him more responsibility. With Logan gone and Storm married to the Blank Panther in Africa, he and Jean were now the ones that were Co-supervisors of the school.

However, Jean had been having some issues with her powers. Her problems were similar to Rogue's, but they were to a point where she couldn't control them. She didn't want to talk to anyone or be around anyone and she had recently left the X-mansion to go to stay with family. Jean hadn't been back in three weeks, and it was killing him.

This was the first time that Rogue had ever seen Scott show any emotion about it all. It scared her, but she didn't let it deter her. She placed her hand on his back and rubbed it as a mother would in order to soothe him."It's alright to feel like ya confused, Scott," She told him, "Wit' everyone gone, Ah feel a lil confused myself sometimes".

Both of them were the last of the original team. Kurt had went back to Germany and had joined the circus. It was a move that he said he wanted to make. In the circus, he was able to be his true self. Without the image inducer, and people loved him for it. Many of the X-men had their own thoughts about it, but they didn't try to argue with him.

Kitty had left the school in order to go to college. Rogue still kept in contact with her every now and then. She was surprised to see that the girl she had once known had turned into a young woman overnight. Gone were the days when Katherine Pryde talked only of fashion and stereotypical things. She was now a woman with a strong background in mutant rights.

Evan had left the X-men once again and was now one of main leaders of the Morlocks along with Callisto. The X-men had realized that it was a good thing to have someone that they knew underground. It also helped that many of those mutants with grotesque physical mutations could come in contact with an X-man, even if they were running to the Morlocks.

The new mutants were leaving and growing, too. All of them were coming into their own background and making independent names for themselves around the world. The positive thing about it all was that, even though the X-men were now separated, they still had the common symbol to unite them.

They were all children of the X-gene, students of Charles Xavier, and members of a unique team created to teach young mutants how to control their powers. That would never change. That would be the thing that kept them together.

Scott and Rogue sat there for awhile. Rogue knew that this was probably the only chance she would get to feel close to him. He was so uptight all the time, that she wondered if he ever took a chance to just breathe. With Kurt gone, not many people in the house could bring Scott down to Earth. Bobby joked that Scott was the only man in the world that could treat even simple things as serious problems.

Rogue didn't argue there. There had been a couple of times when Scott had lashed out at the young X-man for not taking things seriously. It hurt watching the two men face off on one another.

Rogue just wanted there to be peace within the team. She knew that Scott also wanted that. He just didn't know how to make it happen.

Eventually, Scott moved to wrap his arms around her. They were sitting on the park bench, with him holding her to his chest, her hair pressed up against his shirt.

It was a surprising move. One that frightened Rogue. Although she would never admit it.

Many people were afraid to touch her. At one point in time she had shared that fear of herself as well, but as she grew older, she learned to accept her powers. She knew enough about herself to make sure every part of her body was covered, and that she never got close enough to break any barriers.

Here she was now, being held by one of her oldest friends. There was no fear in the way he held her. He just did it as if he didn't know that she was a disease. As if he wasn't afraid that just a accidental brush of her skin could send him into a state of paralyzing shock.

For some reason, Rogue was taken back to those days when she was in High School and Scott had been the perfect boy that she used to dream about. He had been the Prince Charming to her twisted fairy tale.

She had been so in love with him during her younger years. However, as she had grown up, she had realized that there probably would never be anything between them. Scott was in love with Jean, and Jean was in love with him. It no longer hurt Rogue to see them together anymore.

Nonetheless, here she was, being held against Scott. She didn't know what to think or what to say. She was afraid to break the moment. Finally, she decided to put a stop to things when she felt Scott bury his face into the top of her hair.

"Alright now, sugah," Rogue said as she pulled back, "Ah ain' Jean". She had meant it in a teasing way, but suddenly it sounded far too critical.

Rogue could see the corners of Scott's mouth fall, and soon he was turning back into the man that she recognized. The one that was a fearless leader. The one that never broke or showed any emotion.

Rogue didn't know whether to regret pulling Scott out of the moment of feeling that he had just had with her, or if she had been doing her job as an X-man.

Scott was truly the only one left that the Professor could count on. Rogue knew that in time, Scott would be the one that Charles intrusted with his legacy. What Scott was going through now was little compared to what may happen in the future.

Maybe being unfeeling was a crucial part of being the next leader of the X-men. Rogue didn't know how to explain that to Scott, so she didn't try to. She knew that he himself already understood the destiny that he would soon have to accept.

"I apologize, Rogue" Scott said as he stood up.

The world around them was pleasant, but somehow Rogue felt dead inside. Just looking at Scott made her heart hurt. She wanted to fix things, but she didn't know how.

Finally, she stood up. "It's alright. Ah guess Ah'm not use' to ya tellin' me how ya feel" She said to him as they started to walk the path again. Rogue looked up at Scott and she could see that his mouth was formed in such a way that made her know that he was surprised at what she had just told him.

It gave her the courage to go on. "All this time Ah've been an X-man, Ah always felt like ya didn't trust me. Although ya were the one who helped bring me ta Charles. Ah guess what Ah'm tryin' ta say is that Ah'm glad ya talkin' ta me, Scott" She looked down at the ground as they continued to walk, for some reason she couldn't stare straight ahead.

Scott was quiet for a moment. He stopped walking, which in turn made Rogue stop. He turned to face her.

"Rogue, you're an X-man. You've always been an X-man" He said to her and a small smile lifted his face. He put a hand on her shoulder and said, "I trust you".

"Thank ya, Scott. Ah'm glad that ya do" Rogue said and the two started to walk the path again.

They were quietly enjoying their walk uninterrupted. On a whim, Rogue grabbed Scott's arm and leaned into him as they continued along. He seemed surprised at first, but he didn't protest.

They walked like that for the rest of the way.


	2. Chapter 2

Rogue took her time coming inside the X-Mansion.

The voices of two hundred teenagers could be heard. As she stepped through the front door, she could see that the mansion was filled with total chaos. The students of Xavier's School For High Learning were everywhere within the mansion. Rogue could see a few sliding down the banister, others were having heated arguments, and more were walking around eating food which Rogue knew was strictly forbidden to do outside of the kitchen.

She shook her head as she watched a girl with wings fly through the air. The students were not allowed to be airborne inside. The girl went past Rogue and seemed embarrassed with herself when she saw the older woman watching her.

"Sorry, Miss Rogue!," The girl said as she quickly landed on the ground, "I keep forgetting that we can't fly in here!".

Rogue smiled at the girl and placed her hands on her hips. "Jus' don let Scott catch ya flyin' around in here, ya know how he is about stuff getting messed up" Rogue told her with a wink and a smile.

Rogue walked off and she wasn't aware of the girl's eyes on her. The girl was watching her go and studying how Rogue walked with a certain swing in her hips. Some of the boys that were talking to one another in the mansion hall stopped as they watched Rogue pass by. They said their own greetings of acknowledgment, but Rogue could tell that they were thinking of other things.

Rogue just laughed to herself.

"Don' get ahead o' yaselve's boys" Rogue thought playfully. She knew that in a house full of teenagers, especially ones where there were boys and girls, she would be subjected to being someone's puppy love. She didn't let it get to her too much. All of the faculty here had some degree of attractiveness in their students eyes.

Rogue herself had overheard countless conversations of the girls on her hall as they talked amongst one another when they thought everyone was sleeping. It didn't surprise her that a lot of their adoration was split between Scott, Warren, and Bobby. She had also been surprised, but happy, to hear that some of the girls found Dr. McCoy to be appealing. Even though she disapproved, because of the big age differences between Hank and his young students.

"Speaking o' slight age differences," Rogue thought damnably to herself as she walked down a hall and saw a certain cocky, Cajun thief coming out of his room, "It don' help when ya find yaself bein' courted by someone who's not only older than ya, but unattainable, too".

Rogue cursed under her breath as she debated on whether or not to turn around and head the other way. Even though, in order to get to her room, she would have to go down that hall.

However, Remy seemed to be preoccupied with someone on a cell phone as he came outside of his door. He had been asleep most of the day and he hadn't even shown his face for breakfast. That didn't surprise Rogue, because he was usually gone, late, or sleeping through everything. Especially important things, which angered Scott to no end.

Remy had joined the X family shortly after the X-men had reconciled with Magneto and the Brotherhood of Mutants. It was a tentative friendship, one that could change if either group had a different stance on certain issues, but it was a friendship all the same. Rogue had realized that the X-men's relationship with the Brotherhood closely resembled Charle's relationship with Erik. Both of them were leaders of two very different, but similar groups. Despite this, they had a certain level of respect for one another.

Remy hung up his cellphone and placed it in the pocket of his brown duster. As he turned away from his door and started heading down the hall, he was delighted to spot a attractive young woman with auburn hair and a white streak, coming towards him. He put on his best smile, and his already cocky walk turned into a definite stride of certainty.

"Chere," He said in greeting as they reached one another, "Y' look nice this evenin'"

Rogue rolled her eyes, " Ya do know that it's nearly seven o' clock, Lebeau? Ya were supposed ta take the kids out ta the museum today. Ya know that, right?" she informed him.

Remy's devil eyes squinted in amusement, " It's a Saturday, chere. The kids didn' have to do anyting they didn' want to do. Me not takin them to the museum ain' going to hurt them" he replied back evenly.

"Well, it does matter when ya got ah house full o' mutant teenagers runnin' around without any surpervision! Ya forget that there aint' anyone here ta watch them! We're short on staff! Ya takin' them ta the museum would have givin' them something ta do!" Rogue retorted.

Remy smiled in amusement, "I was here. I was watchin' dem. You didn't have to worry about anyting" he said.

Rogue sighed. There was no way that she would ever be able to get through to him. Remy was the type of man that didn't have any responsibilities holding him down, and if he did, he didn't let them take him without finding a way to break free for a little while.

Rogue didn't know whether to trust him or to knock him through a wall. He frustrated her as much as he frustrated everyone else that dedicated their lives to Xavier's dream.

"Ah guess Ah'll jus' leave ya ta the Professor" Rogue said in her way of giving up. She had just spent a relaxing day at the park with Scott. She wasn't about to let an argument with Remy get her feeling down again.

Remy frowned. He could see that Rogue was starting to come to herself once again. He had been worried about her these past few months. After her absorption of Carol Danvers powers, she hadn't been acting normal. However, today she seemed a little bit different.

"_A little brighter"_ Remy thought to himself. It didn't help that he knew the reason behind why she was in a good mood. He looked down at her and a very different smile spread across his lips.

"Y' seem like y' feelin well, chere" He told her.

Rogue kept her expression guarded and immediately folded her arms, "Ah am, actually" she admitted.

Remy's smile vanished and his face grew serious as he studied her. After a while he spoke,"Dat's good, chere" was all he said and he started to walk away.

Rogue turned to watch him go. He was a fast walker and it didn't take him long to get down the hallway. She shook her head and muttered curses to herself under her breath. Remy was a bad influence and a bad mentor to have around the kids, but something about him was also very good. That was the thing that confused Rogue the most.

Rogue continued walking to her room. She no longer felt confused or disorientated like she had been these past months. When she got inside her door, she closed it and sat on her bed. She had spent countless of nights here, struggling to control the voice and memory that was inside of her.

Fighting Carol had been the single hardest thing that Rogue had ever had to do in her life. It was one thing to temporarily steal people's memories and abilities. It was another to permanently have them implanted in you.

Rogue had realized that even though Carol was still alive, physically speaking, her mental being had been sucked inside of Rogue's own mind. Carol was now a part of Rogue, and for awhile she had been fighting to take over. That was until the Professor came in and helped sedate her. Now Rogue could control her own thoughts and she no longer struggled with another person's mind inside of her.

However, some days Rogue still feared that Carol would find a way to claw herself back into Rogue's psyche. The Professor himself had said that the mental blocks he had placed inside of Rogue's mind were not set in stone. If Carol was mad enough, determined enough, which Rogue already knew that she was, she would find a way to regain her ability to communicate with Rogue again.

Through it all, Rogue herself was ashamed and distraught at what she had done to Carol. Some days it was hard to get out of bed knowing that she had been involved in a plan that cost someone their physical life. Rogue wanted Carol to know that she hadn't done what she did on purpose, but Carol was strong and unforgiving. Sedating her was the only way that Rogue could live peacefully.

Rogue got off her bed. She didn't want to go back down that road of depression again. Tonight would be different. She wasn't going to allow herself to feel low.

She walked over to the area in her room that had a huge, gigantic window that dropped to the floor. Rogue usually kept it close, but today she decided to open it.

She pulled back the dark green curtains and unlatched the lock. She pushed open the doors and was met with a gorgeous view of the moon and a pleasant look at the front yard of the mansion.

Rogue smiled as the cool night air blew inside, brushing back her hair. She watched as a few of the students sat outside near the fountain, talking and joking with one another. It reminded her of the days that she had spent as a first time student at Xavier's. That had been long ago.

Rogue sat down on the sill, pulled her legs up to herself, and rested her cheek against her knees. She wondered what it would take to get all the old X-men back together again. Kurt, Evan, Jean, Kitty, Logan, and Storm. Being with Scott at the park had made her miss old times.

"Hey! Rogue! Get down here!" Bobby Drake got out of the X-van that he and Hank had just pulled up in. He saw Rogue sitting in her window on the third floor as they were driving up and decided to call out to her.

Rogue looked down and she could see the good looking, tall young man waving up at her. She rolled her eyes good-naturedly, but didn't know what to say. She wasn't sure if she wanted to spend the night socializing with the students and the other staff.

Usually she just stayed to herself, but if she wanted to change, now was a time to start doing it. She sighed a big sigh and got off her window sill. As her feet touched the floor of her room, she thought about going back down the halls and the stairs of the mansion. But, then she realized that part of accepting who she was meant that she had to accept her new abilities as well.

Rogue took a deep breath and then shook her head at herself.

"_Whas the matter wit' ya, girl?"_ She scolded herself, _"Ya ain' afraid o' trying new things"_.

Rogue went over to her window and looked back down at Bobby and the others. She could see Hank driving the X-van into the garage and Bobby rounding up the kids for a game of experimental soccer. Rogue felt herself smile with a sense of mischief as she realized what she was about to do.

"_Don' be afraid, girl"_ Rogue repeated to herself.

Bobby looked back up at Rogue's window as he lifted a soccer ball under his arm. He had just established to the kids that they would play a twenty minute game of Deathhac before going inside for dinner. It was a game he had been learning to play during his time at the local Bayville College. One that he wanted to show his students.

As he stared at the window, he was surprised to see Rogue coming out of it, flying down to the ground below. A broad smile crossed Bobby's face as he watched her land on the ground a few feet from the group. Even the students seemed surprised to see Rogue flying.

She walked over to them, her shoulders held back and her head high, with that confident walk that made people realize she was a woman secure with herself. Bobby threw the ball to her and acted as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened. However, a few of the kids were looking at Rogue and whispering to themselves in amazement.

Rogue caught the ball with ease and turned her attention to her gossiping students. When her green eyes reached their faces, they stopped talking at once. They looked at her in embarrassment.

"Ya'll ready ta play?" She asked them, breaking her face into a genuine smile.


	3. Chapter 3

Scott Summers watched the group of staff and students from outside his window. His face was slowly curving into an expression of amusement as he studied how Rogue and Bobby encouraged the students to play a group game. He wondered what it would take to make a team out of the two hundred students they had at the school.

It hadn't been easy forming the original one, and that had been a smaller group of students. Lately, it seemed that every teen that was struggling with their mutant abilities was offered a place in the X family. Xavier himself refused to turn students away, no matter how significant or unsignificant their mutations were.

Scott himself knew that the school had students with powers as incredible as invincibility to powers such as being able to draw anything that you touched. Scott wasn't so sure why they needed to help students with slightly weaker abilities. In that regard, he supposed that his views somewhat mirrored that of Magneto. Erik believed that only those who's mutations were the cream of the crop should be able to call themselves mutants.

However, the Professor argued that every kind of mutant was welcomed here. In some ways, Scott knew that it made teens who never would have had anything about themselves to be proud in, feel special. That meant that the Xavier's School was there to show the kid with the gift to draw that he had just as much greatness in him as the one that's mutation allowed him to be invincible.

It was part of being a mutant. Realizing that you weren't like the others around you. No matter how insignificant.

Scott sighed and walked away from his window to sit down at his desk. He had a lot to work to do. First, there was a meeting that he had to schedule with S.H.I.E.L.D. The group was 'concerned' about the high number of mutants in one area.

They were afraid that Xavier's School was a danger to society. For one thing, since the Institute was a school, S.H.I.E.L.D wasn't allowed to just shut Xavier's down without a proper investigation. It was part of the reason why Xavier had pushed for them to be a legit, accredited place for students to not only live, but to learn.

That meant that it was Scott's responsibility to see to it that the school actually maintained its level of academics as well as teaching the students how to handle their gifts. It meant that he needed to make sure that the school had the proper staff, which was a hard thing to come by.

Scott always made sure that he had teachers at the school that were also mutants. That way, the students would see that there were people like them who make it in the real world, despite being a mutant.

That's why he had instructors like Hank, Warren, Rogue, and even Bobby. All of them represented mutants who'd been out in society, got their education or are continuing to get their education, and could show the students that they could be something.

There was also Gambit and Jean. However, Scott wasn't too sure if he could count Remy as someone that the students could look up to and Jean was on a leave of absence.

As he was thinking about it, Scott realized that he needed to hire more instructors. They didn't have a lot of people here. That wasn't surprising.

Unfortunately, most of those who Scott could call on were busy doing their own things. People like Sam Gunthrie, who was in X-Force, and Rhane Sinclair, who had joined the Europe based group Excalibur.

Scott sighed. He needed to find other people that could be here with the students and actually maintain the school. It was hard enough trying to go on missions, where he had to take Bobby, Warren, and Rogue away from their main responsibilities and leave Hank in charge of all classes.

It was risky, but it was the only way he knew how to do things. He knew that Hank could handle it. The Professor himself was always there to help.

Scott rubbed his temple and thought about what he should do. Scott silently wondered why the Professor just didn't use his mental persuasion to influence people to come and help them. It wasn't as if the Professor didn't know that they could use more help around here.

"_Are you sure that I haven't already?" _Scott heard the strong mental voice in his head. A small smile fluttered across his lips and he let out a low chuckle.

"Your not supposed to be listening to me, Professor" Scott said aloud, even though no one was in the room but himself.

"_I can't help it. Your mind is one that is constantly in motion. You need to learn to relax, son"_ Professor Xavier chastised him.

Scott sighed and stood up, flexing his muscles and joints. "I would if I could, Professor" He told him.

Outside, he heard the sound of a shrill scream. Scott knew it was Rogue, but he didn't know why she would sound so surprised. He flew to the window and he saw what was going on out on the front lawn of the mansion. Pulling into the gate was a black motorcycle, and on it was none other than the mutant known as Wolverine.

Scott's expression turned solemn. "Tell me you didn't actually force him to come here" Scott muttered to the Professor.

The last time Scott had seen Logan, they had gotten into a heated discussion. It had been Scott's first mission as leader, and Logan had been very hard on him. After that, the two had stayed away from each other and avoided one another at all costs.

"_No, I didn't. Nonetheless, it wouldn't have been bad if I had"_ The Professor said.

He let out a low whistle. "So, Logan's back" He said to himself, not sure how he should take the news.

For one thing, Logan was known to be a drifter just as much as Gambit was known for his carefree ways. The issue about having men at the X-mansion that Scott couldn't count on was that he didn't know whether or not he should trust them.

"_Give Logan and Remy a chance, Scott. You'll see that they have much to offer you"_ Charles spoke.

Outside, Rogue was racing towards the man that was getting off of the motorcycle. She ran to him and stood in front of the short, gruff looking man. Logan smiled at Rogue and he was surprised to see that not only had she grown taller, but her scent was that of a fully realized woman.

Rogue reached down and gave him a cautious, but firm hug. As she pulled away from him, he realized that she was no longer that scared girl that he had spent most of his time watching out for.

"Well, I see you've gotten tah be quite the young woman, Rogue" He said as he looked up at her.

Rogue smiled and couldn't help but feel herself blush. Logan hadn't changed at all. He looked just the same as the day he had left.

"Ah've been doin' some growin', but how about you lil' man?" Rogue teased him. The last time she had seen him, she was not nearly as tall.

Logan laughed a deep throated laugh, "I guess I haven't changed much" he admitted.

He looked over at the group of kids that were standing in the lawn. They were watching him with expressions of curiosity. He realized that he didn't recognize any of them. "I've ben gone pretty long, haven't I?" He asked Rogue.

Rogue laughed."Ah guess ya have, sugah" She admitted.

Logan brightened when he saw one familiar young face in the crowd of youngsters. "I remember you" He said to Bobby, who was holding the soccer ball under his arm again. Bobby hadn't been sure if he should interrupt Rogue's moment with Logan.

He stepped forward towards Logan, "It's been awhile" he said.

Logan nodded at him, "Can't argue there". Logan could see that the mutant known as "Iceman" had actually changed into a man. He was taller, and his face now had the look of a adult.

Rogue smiled warmly at Logan and grabbed his arm,"Well, let's gettcha inside. Ah know Hank an' Scott would like ta see ya. An' ya probably want ta see the Professor" she said.

"Yeah, I would" Logan said to her. Logan looked at Bobby, "When I get back, you and I have some Danger Room sessions to do" he told him.

Bobby nodded and turned his attention back to the kids as Rogue and Logan walked away.

"Alright," he said as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened, "We still have ten more minutes to play".

The group of teenagers all looked at one another. Bobby knew that they had questions, but he wasn't sure if he was allowed to give them answers. That was the way things worked around the X-mansion. Scott was usually the one who decided what they could and could not tell the students.

Until then, Bobby and the rest of the staff just played things as if everything was normal. Part of it was to give the students a chance at a peaceful life no matter what. That was a huge belief in Xavier's dream, and the X-men wanted to uphold that vision.

Rogue and Logan walked through the doors of the X-mansion and Logan was surprised at what he saw when he looked around. There were shoes, games, and trash everywhere. Rogue felt her face heat up, but she decided against excusing the mess to Logan.

A few lone students were walking around the mansion. Some gave strange looks to Logan while others ignored him completely. One girl was lying on the staircase, talking loudly on the phone.

"Ah guess ya remember where everything is in the mansion," Rogue babbled as she hurried past the main entrance.

She guided Logan up the stairs and pass the girl, who morphed her body in the form of the staircase when Rogue and Logan tried to get by. Rogue led Logan to Hank's study. She knocked on the door and waited patiently.

"Hank should be inside" She informed Logan.

"Right..." He said as he watched two kids run back and forth down the hallway. They were throwing a ball and chasing one another.

"Louis! Zephyr! Stop!" Rogue told them and tried not to show her embarrassment.

Finally, Hank opened his door. He was wearing his glasses and he peaked out to see Rogue standing there with Logan beside her. His eyes went wide.

"My goodness! Logan!" He exclaimed.

Logan smiled a genuine smile, "McCoy" he said in a greeting.

The two men shook hands. Logan was glad to see that Hank still resembled the same blue and furry man that he'd knew when he'd left. "I see you're still teaching Xavier's gifted" Logan commented.

Hank laughed a genuine laugh, "Yes, and gifted they are. You do know that we have two hundred students attending this year?" he told Logan.

Logan looked at the two students that were now sliding down the hall, "Yeah, I've noticed" he said.

Hank seemed undeterred by Logan's unshared enthusiasm, "Well, I think the Professor is waiting to see you, Logan. I'm sure he already knows of your presence here, does he not?" he asked the Canadian.

Logan nodded his head and Rogue raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Ya mean the Professor was the one that called ya here?" Rogue asked Logan.

Logan looked up at her and smiled, "Yeah" he confirmed.

Rogue didn't know what to say. She was happy that Logan was back, but she silently wondered for how long was he likely to stay. She knew that he had already left once. She wasn't sure if he wouldn't do it again.

"You don't look too happy about that, kid" Logan said as he watched Rogue's expression.

Rogue shrugged her shoulders, "Ah'm jus' surprised ya even came back" she said in a bitter voice. She didn't know why, but suddenly she felt very defensive.

Logan took in the scent and body language that Rogue was giving him. He sighed. "Look, I'm sorry if I've been out of contact for awhile. I'm back now. I'm planning on sticking around" He said gently and he looked into the eyes of both Rogue and Hank. He was trying to convey to them that he meant what he was saying.

Rogue sighed and her anger subsided. It wasn't gone, but it did reduce to just a lesser amount. She looked at Logan and smiled, "Then Ah'm glad ya back, sugah".


End file.
